Moscow's Vnukovo airport is setting up a new facility at its business terminal for a helicopter air taxi service operated by an unspecified Russian owner.
AgustaWestland, which has already sold 14 helicopters to private customers in Russia, confirms it is "in negotiations with a potential customer", but cannot elaborate.
Vnukovo-3 chief executive Alexander Popov says that by 2009 helicopters will operate from 10 spots at the dedicated business terminal, eventually flying every half an hour to the Moscow City financial district just west of the centre of Moscow.
"We've already held talks with foreign firms so that as soon as we start building our helicopter aerodrome we'll create a technical maintenance centre, and get certification and dealer rights from various companies including AgustaWestland. We'll also create a helicopter pilot school and develop helicopter flight insurance policies," he says.
Popov says the Russian transport ministry is in the process of working out new regulations and control procedures to allow helicopters to arrive and depart from Moscow City.
"In the very near future the transport ministry will develop a comprehensive programme for flying helicopters first over Moscow region, then in the capital itself," Popov says.
"There are already positive moves in that direction. By the end of next year we'll know how to proceed and we're already preparing for that. In the very near future the flights will go along the Moscow river. As demand grows flights will be allowed along other routes," he adds.
Popov cites a typical fare of $500 per helicopter for the journey into Moscow.
Previously, all civilian air traffic was banned from flying at low level into Moscow for security reasons. This led to the collapse of a Moscow city government effort to set up an air taxi service a few years ago.
Source: Flight International
